LONDON — World No. 1 Jannik Sinner brushed aside concerns over an apparent elbow injury to defeat No. 10 seed Ben Shelton in straight sets Wednesday at Wimbledon, booking his place in the semifinals with a 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4 win. He now advances to face seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic in what promises to be a high-voltage semifinal at the All England Club.
Despite sporting a compression sleeve and visible tape on his right arm following a fall in his fourth-round match against Grigor Dimitrov, Sinner showed no signs of struggle, unleashing blistering forehands and serving at top speed. He won 27 of 29 points on serve in the first set and committed just one unforced error, underscoring his command on Court No. 1.
“I tried not to think about the elbow,” said Sinner, who had undergone an MRI the day before and briefly canceled a practice session. “It has improved a lot from yesterday to today.”
Shelton, who was competing in his first Wimbledon quarterfinal, said post-match: “His ball was coming off pretty big today, so I didn’t see any difference.”
The 23-year-old Italian’s dominant performance was especially evident in high-pressure moments. After taking control of the first-set tiebreak with aggressive shotmaking, Sinner shut down Shelton’s only two break point opportunities in the second set with a 132 mph serve and an ace.
Meanwhile, over on Centre Court, Novak Djokovic battled past No. 22 seed Flavio Cobolli in four sets (6-7(6), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4), despite suffering a painful-looking fall on match point. The 38-year-old Serbian slipped into the splits and landed face-down on the grass — but quickly regrouped and closed out the match two points later to reach a men’s record 14th Wimbledon semifinal.
“I hope the impact of the fall isn’t serious. I’ll know more in the next 24 to 48 hours,” said Djokovic, who is aiming for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title.
Djokovic has beaten Sinner in their two previous Wimbledon encounters — the 2023 semifinal and 2022 quarterfinal — but has lost their last four meetings, including last month’s French Open semifinal.
Friday’s men’s semifinals will feature Djokovic vs. Sinner, and Carlos Alcaraz vs. Taylor Fritz, in what could set the stage for a blockbuster final weekend.
The women’s semifinals on Thursday will see Aryna Sabalenka take on Amanda Anisimova, while Iga Swiatek faces Belinda Bencic.